Correlation between phosphorescence lifetimes and ratios of steady state phosphorescence to fluorescence intensity for biacetyl in various solvents

Abstract

The phosphorescence of biacetyl in fluid solutions is quenched not only by oxygen but also by impurities resulting from the distillation procedure and from the freeze-pump-thaw degassing technique. A linear correlation between the measured phosphorescence lifetimes and the ratios of the phosphorescence to the fluorescence intensities is established; the slope affords reliable calculations of the biacetyl triplet lifetimes from steady state measurements and additionally the determination of the rate constant k p of radiative triplet deactivation. This constant is dependent on the solvent, whereas the fluorescence constant k F is not.